Current practice in the construction trade and building industry is to suspend ceiling tiles, acoustic ceiling tiles, fixtures, and the like, with wire ties that are fastened at one end to a bracket which is affixed to building structure such as a ceiling joist, a concrete or masonry pad used to form the roof or floor above, a ceiling panel support grid, and/or brackets affixed to these surfaces. Typically, one end of the wire ties is attached to the support structure and the other end hangs down from this structure. The wire ties are commonly made of from 8 to 12 gauge steel, or the like, and is reasonably resilient in order to provide the strength needed to support the weight of the ceiling or ceiling components. Because a relatively large variety of equipment can be hidden above a suspended acoustic tile ceiling in a commercial building, the wires ties can vary in length from 18 inches to over six to eight feet. Thicker gauge wire ties can also be used in some applications.
In use, the user inserts the hanging free end of the wire tie though a ceiling support bracket, or the like, and then twists the wire around itself in order to hold the wire tie in position. This is commonly done by hand, or with the aid of a pair of pliers.
The most apparent disadvantage of this technique is the cost of labour for the labour intensive task of twisting the wire. For example, in order to be reasonably secure and satisfy some municipal codes, approximately six to eight inches of the wire must be twisted eight to ten turns about itself. In practise, because of the stiffness of the wire tie, it is difficult on the user to use his fingers to twist each wire tie around itself eight or ten times; —particularly when the total number of wire ties to be twisted in a larger ceiling installation can exceed several hundred, or more.
Further, even if the wire ties were twisted for eight to ten turns, the quality of the resultant coil of twisted wire can vary from user to user, or even from one wire tie to the next. Preferably, the resultant coil is closely space so as to form a “tight” coil, in order to provide maximum strength to the wire tie.
However, in practice, many workers in an abbreviated approach, will only twist the wire three or four times about itself in order to conserve time, and to conserve their finger strength. Still, even when only two or three twists are made, the work is time consuming, and can tax the strength of the user's fingers and hands. Further, while this abbreviated approach can save some time, this method of connecting the wire to the bracket is not very secure. Under sufficient stress, the abbreviated wire twist can stretch, and under further stress, the wire can prematurely untwist.
Still another disadvantage of this abbreviated approach is that the connection between the wire tie and the ceiling or ceiling fixture is looser than designed. Under normal circumstances, gravity provides tension between the wire and the bracket. However, in the case of an earthquake, fire or the like, the loose connection allows vibration and movement of the fixtures supported by the wire. This can result in fixtures falling onto emergency workers and other similar hazards.
Various prior art devices have been provided to address this situation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,969 issued to Cinque, provides a device for twisting ceiling wires. While his device is intended to be used on the end of a pole, or such, to reach higher installation applications and attach a wire to a support bracket, it provides a mechanism to twist a ceiling wire around itself. However, the Cinque device has a tube in which the hanging wire is fitted, and an angled blade which is adapted to engage and push the free end of the wire. In use, as the tube is twisted around the hanging wire, the blade causes the free end of the wire to twist around the hanging wire.
This approach is not practical in all applications, especially in applications where the wire tie is already hanging from the ceiling support structure, and the user is attempting to hang the ceiling or fixture from the support structure. In particular, Cinque requires free access to the end of the hanging wire in order to insert the hanging end into his tube device. Further, since the blade of Cinque merely rests against the free end of the wire, obtaining a “tight” twist pattern to produce a coil in a specified length, can be difficult. Similar devices are shown by Vogt et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,984, by Young in U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,356, and by Woolford Jr. et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,869.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 561,143 to Tinsley which provides a tool which is adapted to be used to splice a wire in a fencing application. While not directed to ceiling tiles, the Tinsley device is fitted around a wire, and has a protrusion adapted to catch the free end of the wire. This again mimics the Cinque device with the protrusion acting as the rotating blade. However, the protrusion of the Tinsley device would require some care and time in which to insert the wire correctly into the protrusion, and would require the device to be operated only in one specific direction of rotation Further, since the protrusion extends outward from the handle of the device, in practise, it would catch on various devices, other tools, or the user's hands, clothing, or the like.
Other tools are known but these all suffer from similar problems, or are excessively complex and/or are difficult to install and use in the time periods required by those who work in this industry. As such, even though tools for twisting wires are well known, the common industry practise is still to hand twist the free end of the wire tie around the hanging section, and to only twist the wire tie for only two or three twists.
As such, to overcome these difficulties, it would be advantageous to provide a compact tool that could be easily installed and operated tool, and that could be used to rapidly twist a wire tie around itself, and which would automatically produce a tight coil of wire around the hanging wire tie. It would also be advantageous to provide a tool that permits a coil of eight to ten twists that can be rapidly achieved without significant exertion by the user's fingers and/or hands.